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Scott Rocklage is Leading the Fight Against DM1

April 11, 2018 •
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Scott Rocklage is one of the worlds most acclaimed biochemists and he is also one of the medical industries leading businessmen. His medical investment venture capital firm 5AM ventures, is a prime source of funding resources for organizations and entities conducting groundbreaking research all over the globe. It is this research that is paving the way to new treatments and finding the foundations of future cures for some of the worlds worst medical conditions. Most recently 5AM ventures joined forces with other funding partners to generate a new resource pool for Expansion Therapeutics. The research and development company is leading the charge to find a treatment for a condition that could save the lives of millions, Myotonic dystrophy type I.

Myotonic dystrophy type I or DM1 as it is known in medical research circles, is the leading cause of muscular dystrophy in adults. There is no known treatment program for DM1 although it is known that in a great percentage of cases the condition is hereditary and its effects can increase and manifest faster with each subsequent generation. For this reason, entire family lines are at risk of being obliterated within a few generations unless something is done to find a cure.

Expansion Therapeutics undertook the funding campaign with the help of Novartis Venture Fund, Sanofi Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, RA Capital Management, Kleiner Perkins, and of course Scott Rocklage and 5AM Ventures. The campaign was an overwhelming success and garnered more than $55.3M for the purposes of continuing to search for treatment options and potentially a cure for DM1. The funding pool will allow the work that expansion Therapeutics is doing on DM1 research to continue for at least the foreseeable future.

Scott Rocklage is a man who loves to help find cures for conditions and disease such as DM1. This is more than just a career point for him, it as passion. He has spent his entire life working to help others and search for ways to make their lives better. He started his career at The University of California, Berkeley, where he worked hard and earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with honors. He then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Chemistry from MIT, where he had the chance to work in the laboratory of Richard R. Schrock, the 2005 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for Chemistry.

He started working with 5AM Ventures in 2003 first as a venture partner, and later as a managing partner beginning in 2004. He works out of the 5AM Ventures Boston Office and lives with his wife, Patty Rocklage, acclaimed Therapist, outside of the city.